Actor: Brigitte Nielsen

Some fantasy films are just entertaining yarns, but some try to teach the viewer something. Most of them are about self-reliance and finding the hero within ourselves. Richard Fleischer'sRed Sonja, however, is about defeating the gay agenda. Yes. It's about the rainbow menace that stalks our dreams and inhabits our nightmares.

The prologue finds our titular heroine (Brigitte Nielson) sprawled on the ground. A disembodied voice fills the audience in. Queen Gedren (Sandahl Bergman) came upon Sonja at her parents' homestead and decided that the redhead was quite the catch and made a pass at her. Like any good heterosexual heroine, Sonja refuses her advances. Pissed about being rejected, Gedren orders the slaughter of Sonja's parents and tells her men to have a little fun with the uppity girl. The disembodied voice tells our heroine to dust herself off and gain her revenge. Fueled by righteous rage, she becomes a mighty swordfighter and cunning warrior.

Meanwhile, a group of scantily-clad priestesses are trying to seal away a magical glowy orb for the good of humanity. Their efforts are foiled by Gedren and her army who swoop in to steal the orb. One priestess escapes: a redhead who is rescued by totally-not-Conan Prince Kalidor (Arnold Schwarzenegger). They find her sister, Sonja, and the priestess tells her the news before promptly dying. Now, there are potentially world-ending consequences should Gedren continue with her fashion-forward gay reign of terror.

Sonja, a man-hater, decides to go alone on her quest, but is soon accompanied by Prince Tarn (Ernie Reyes Jr.) of Hablok, his manservant, Falkon (Paul Smith), and, finally, Kalidor. The journey puts Sonja in touch with her softer side, showing that she's totally feminine and straight despite her warrior ways. By the end of the silly (yet fun) film, Sonja finds that revenge is sweet.